Shadows and Dreams
by TerrabreakerX
Summary: Dreams aren't real and shadows are illusory, but they cannot be dismissed so easily. There are some things to be afraid of in shadows and dreams, hiding in the dark or the light. Ed/Win.
1. Prologue

First up is the prologue, then my initial author's notes.

_What would your good do if evil didn't exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared?_

_Mikhail Bulgakov_

* * *

It was always like this. He span his spear out and decapitated three of his smaller foes, their corpses fading into dust as they hit the ground. He hauled it back and raised his shield, alert for the appearance of more of the enemy.

It was always like this. The rush, the heat of his blood within his veins, his spirits soaring as the battle was joined.

_This is war!_

His foes were not challenging enough alone, not fit to test his might on. He could safely claim to being able to slay almost all of them – a few exceptions existed, admittedly – in single, honourable combat.

Less foes would stick to the shadows and hide behind their little guards, but he would not stoop to such foolishness.

He spied two of them now, a giant of golden-etched steel and a frosty-faced archer. The latter was notching an ice-rimmed arrow into her bow from her quiver as she advanced.

She'd never get the chance to fire it.

Gathering his strength and bellowing a war cry, he leapt sky high to descend upon the enemy, spear pointing down. _Death from above…_

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

Yet another goodbye. She watched as they clambered into their ship and prepared to take off. One waved goofily out of the window, his face all a grin; floppy hazel hair going everywhere. The other nodded to her, a ghost of a smile on his face; more detached, yet no less affectionate.

Yet another goodbye. She wished that she could go with them as she watched the strange blocky craft lift away from the island, narrowly missing a palm tree, and blinked at the sun as the shadow the ship had cast moved with it.

She was used to these farewells now, but they were never any easier, even if she hid her disappointment each they had to do depart for other worlds.

Tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, she walked back home.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

He ran. His partner vaulted the barrier ahead of them with contemptuous ease and he followed suit moments later.

He ran and ran and ran, but it was clear that the one they were pursuing would get away without proper intervention.

Another criminal, another foe to apprehend. Same old, same old, but it never quite became boring.

He could just see the shadow of their target in the distance as they rounded a bend in the sprawling subterranean city.

His partner called out a warning, a suggestion, but he was already on it. He brought his left hand up over the unusual watch on his right hand and smirked before bringing it down.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

It was all about stealth. She and her friends melted into the shadows as the banker and his entourage passed, the rich man pontificating loudly about his dreams of global financial conquest.

It was all about stealth. She smirked; it was rarely this easy, often requiring direct confrontation. She almost laughed as the idiot below recited his entire plan right into the "ears" of the recording device.

Her ginger hair was normally a disadvantage on stealthy missions but tonight it was so dark that it didn't matter from where they were hanging, almost like bats on the roof of a cave.

When they had heard all they needed to know, they faded into the night.

And finally…

* * *

Ed boarded the train that would take him back across the border, feeling the carriage appreciatively as he glanced at the nearby engine.

_Good old Amestrian engineering._

It had been a good year, but he missed his friends and his family. He couldn't wait to see Al again… and Winry.

Shadows flashed past as the train began to move. It was still sunny, but it was a very, very long journey back to Central from the west, and it would be dark soon, though bright once more by the time they reached their destination.

It was warm, and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep – and while he slept, he dreamed…

* * *

So, where to start? This is my first FMA story, and indeed my first story in a category known for such bloodshed, swearing, etc. We'll see if I can capture the appropriate feel for the setting and of the dialogue, events, etc. If it doesn't feel like FMA, and if the FMA characters – particularly Ed – don't come off _right_, please review and tell me. In terms of continuity_, Shadows and Dreams _is set in the **Brotherhood **universe and will have **Ed/Winry **as the main pairing.

Another extremely important thing to note is that_ Shadows _will involve characters crossing over into the FMA Brotherhood universe very early on – from other cartoons and games - and their presence and interactions with members of the Brotherhood cast will form the focus of the plot of the story. Two, maybe three, of these characters in particular are from settings markedly less "mature" than Brotherhood, while you could say that one comes from a time and place much darker. I only ask that you give_ Shadows_ a chance, particularly when the former come into the story, despite the backgrounds that they are coming from.

Furthermore, the action as a whole will remain inside the Brotherhood universe. There won't be any dimension hopping for Ed and the gang; they (but he in particular) will be dealing with external characters coming in.

So why have I not put this into one of the crossover categories? It comes down to the fact that it's hard for me to pin this story down into a single "FMA and X" crossover category, as I'm not just drawing characters from a single external setting, nor even a single external genre. About the closest thing I could do is stick it into some kind of "Anime X-overs" section, but even that only tells half the story. If anyone has a problem with this, I'll consider moving it, but in the meantime, if you really hate crossover fiction, this won't be the story for you.

All of the characters from other universes – bar one, who will have his vague introduction next time – had their preambles above.

On other admin concerns… Anyone coming from my other recent, in progress story _Venatus_ will know of my rather… eh… lax update schedule recently. This started when I went off to uni, got a job and spent much of the rest of my time playing World of Warcraft. Now that I've quit the latter, I should get a little better at producing updates at a more reasonable pace than "once a month at best" but we'll see, and as such I'm not going to offer a timetable that I probably won't be able to keep.

Another difference from _Venatus_ in this story will be the chapter length. I aim for a minimum of 5000 words for each chapter of _Venatus_, a plan that doesn't do wonders for the update schedule either. In contrast, chapters of _Shadows _will be much shorter on average; perhaps longer for a special chapter, but this would not be a standard that I would stick to.

Chapter one coming up next;


	2. Awaited Return

First chapter now; Return.

_People believe dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes._

_Neil Gaiman_

* * *

"Awaken."

The voice cut through his sleep like a knife through butter. He started up, panting at the sudden rush of adrenaline from the unfamiliar setting he found himself in.

Then, in a heartbeat, he remembered.

He remembered the last dream, and the dream before that, and the dream before that, and so on, so forth, all the way back to the first.

The dreams that he was never able to recall while conscious. Memories sealed away from the waking world.

Memories that now returned to Edward Elric in the blink of an eye.

He sat up, taking deeper, slower breaths as he felt the cool marble floor and gazed around the interior of the vast room he always found himself in, after "waking" like this. The air was warm, filled with a fragrant, smoky incense that blurred the edges of his vision and shrouded the edges of the hall.

Gold leaf etched the marble, the timber pews and altar protected by a rich red cloth. Stained glass windows high in the rafters allowed light to bathe the altar and the aisle, silhouetting them against the rest of the room.

Even to Ed it was obvious that this place was a church. The opulence, the atmosphere, the drama…

But a church to what? He couldn't be sure. The few places of worship he had visited throughout his nineteen-year old life had been dedicated to Leto, the sun god; a belief system that was not widely practiced in Amestris, though the former alchemist had found it to be more prevalent in the west. This church bore none of the helian deity's iconography; at least none that he recognised. He remembered wondering what kind of god the Ishvalans prayed to in one of his previous dreams, and then recalled dismissing it as a possibility.

The stained glass windows providing dim illumination to the church offered no clue. He regarded them in turn, seeing them with greater clarity as his thoughts came back to him. Images of a great hero, a slayer of dragons, a gargantuan throne…

It was all so real, so vivid, that he could even touch it...

It was the strangest sensation to recover his memories in this way. Not all at once, but in sliding succession, all the way back to the first time he had heard that voice.

_That voice… That man…_

He swivelled round to the altar to find a figure kneeling in supplication. A figure that had always been there, and would always be there at the start of every dream.

Ed stood up carefully, his eyes adjusted to the light and his lungs adjusted to the air. The figure was armoured, as ever, a massive sword and an unusual weapon that Ed assumed was a gun of some kind resting reverently at the foot of the altar.

"I'm back here again, huh?" Ed noted, taking a few steps up the aisle.

He always started in the middle of the procession, and the dream ended, without fail, whenever he reached the altar.

No reply. Ed recalled that the figure was not one for idle chit-chat, and only rarely deigned to respond. He took another two steps, and then tried again.

"I'm still dreaming, right?"

"Of course." That stirred the figure. He rose with a great creak and whine of protesting machinery, shattering the serenity of the place in a way that mere words never could as he turned to face the former alchemist. Ed's last forgotten memory slotted into place as he beheld the armoured man.

_Giant…_

He towered over Ed in a way no-one else ever had - even when his growth had been stunted and his brother had inhabited a suit of armour – at least eight feet all told. Even then, Al's armour had been heraldic, embossed; war-worthy but destined for display. This was battle-armour of a much nobler kind, its blue, contoured surface lovingly polished and cared for, no detail lacking attention from pauldrons to greaves, and yet clearly not something to be relegated to a cabinet. Green icons stood out against the blue plate; red lenses tinted inside the inhuman white helm.

Yet there was something… wrong… about the plate at the same time.

"I just like to be sure." Ed replied casually, taking another step. "I'm still not sure what to make of this place. I guess I ought to be more concerned about this whole thing than I actually am. Like I was before."

It really had worried him to begin with, and he had put a lot of effort into trying to remember what he had seen when he returned to the waking world. It never worked.

"Perhaps." The man agreed. He was presuming a little in assigning the figure a gender; he'd never even seen the giant's face, their voice seemingly altered by the protective mask they wore.

More steps.

"Looks like this'll be a quick dream." Ed commented. He was barely a quarter of the aisle away from the giant now and his ticket to consciousness, and he kept walking.

* * *

"Dream on, sir."

"I will!"

"Please, Colonel. We're meant to be working."

"Are you suggesting I don't work hard?"

"…"

"Nonsense! All I was thinking is, since we're back in Central for the next week, we could go and get something nice to-"

"Your schedule's fully booked up, sir. Incidentally, your next appointment is in two minutes."

"Damn it!"

Warrant Officer Kain Fuery paused at the door of his superior's office, listening to the tit-for-tat exchange. Looking through the nearby window he could spot the colonel at his desk and Captain Hawkeye standing behind him, pointing at a diary. Fuery bit back a smile at their back-and-forth; it was obvious that a kind of routine had been re-established.

A routine that had existed before, back when it had been him, Breda, Falman, Havoc and Hawkeye in an office in the east. And Mustang above them all, of course.

Then there had been the war, and the chaos of their separation. Fuery had been sent south to Fotset, and he never wanted to relive the kind of events he experienced in that border war. Then there had been the Promised Day…

Now they were back in Central, three years on, and things were starting to look up.

He looked at the front of the sealed report he was delivering and wondered if it would create fresh trouble.

"Come in, Warrant Officer."

Mustang's voice snapped Fuery out of his reverie and he pushed the door open to enter.

"Sir. Ma'am." He snapped off salutes to the two officers and they stiffened as protocol demanded.

"Morning, Fuery." Mustang greeted as Hawkeye acknowledged him with a smile. "How's Sheska?"

The colonel had an impressive and annoying ability to know things that by rights he shouldn't be able to. Including this little nugget, apparently.

The Warrant Officer and the mousy clerk had been in a relationship barely three days and he hadn't told anyone in the office yet. And yet Mustang already knew.

Fuery's double take was clearly exactly the reaction that Mustang had been hoping.

"She's… uh, she's fine, sir. How did you know I was dating her?"

Mustang grinned as Hawkeye rubbed her temple in the background.

"I didn't. But you just told me."

"Oh. Uh…"

Mustang broke into laughter. Hawkeye sighed.

"He hears rumours all around the office, he wanted to confirm them." She explained, and then paused. "We're happy for you, Kain."

"Uh… Thanks, Ma'am…"

The laughter subsided, a formality returning to the office as Mustang beckoned for the report in Fuery's hands. The Warrant Officer passed it over the desk, glad for the change in subject.

Mustang glanced at the cover and raised an eyebrow.

"Top secret, huh?"

"Yes sir."

"From the office of the fuhrer?"

"Yes sir."

"Hmm." Mustang frowned. "Thanks, Fuery. Dismissed."

Fuery snapped to attention, turned and left. It was almost time for lunch, and he wondered if he would be able to go to see Sheska in the time that he had.

* * *

Back inside and shortly after, Mustang summarised the contents of the situation report from Grumman to Hawkeye.

"And she hasn't said a word since entering Central from the eastern gates, having emerged from a smoking crater in the ground." He summarised.

"She can't speak?" Hawkeye asked.

He checked again.

"Won't, apparently. She did speak at first, apparently had some choice words to say to the soldiers who found her. Probably lucky that they took her prisoner and didn't shoot her."

"Jumpy as they are, even Central forces are more disciplined than that, sir."

Mustang grunted and shrugged in disagreement.

"They described her as tall, with bright red – almost orange - hair and strange clothes?"

"As vague as ever."

"I'm not aware of anyone who matches that description; well, who do we even know that has red hair?"

"It's extremely unusual in Amestris." He agreed.

Most had black or shades of brown and blonde; Ishvalans had white and others with mixed heritage could be found with different varieties, but they were certainly in the minority.

"A foreign spy, then?" She suggested.

"Perhaps."

"So what was the point of his message? Just to let you in the loop?"

"Hmm… No, I don't think so." Mustang flicked right to the back of the document. "Oh, a note…" His face fell as he read the contents.

"Sir?"

"Damn!" He suddenly shouted, surprising the captain. "He wants me to deal with it! Take responsibility for the prisoner and work out who she is and where she came from! Even with all the trouble we're having with Ishval… "

Indeed, they were only really in Central to petition the Fuhrer for a greater national policy focus on reconstruction. Progress was slow, even if reconciliation had been aided by the events of the Promised Day. Having Major Miles and Scar to help was a big boon, also, even if Mustang had only discovered the latter's survival sometime after the beginning of his involvement.

"But with this mystery on my plate too…"

"You can't really outright refuse, sir." Hawkeye reminded him. "Not if you want to curry favour with him if you want him to appoint you as his successor…"

_Think, Roy! Think!_

His thoughts wandered across the Promised Day again and he suddenly had an idea; a way to deal with the task he had been given and yet avoid the hassle.

"Captain, isn't Fullmetal supposed to be back in Central tomorrow?"

"According to Winry, last time I spoke to her, yes, sir." She replied, confused by the seeming diversion.

"Then I have an idea." He grinned.

* * *

"You are repeating yourself, little one." The giant observed. He was referring to dreams long past, not that Ed needed reminding. They didn't happen to him every time he went to sleep, but frequent enough for the words to stick; the last five encounters must have gone the same.

_Wait, little?!_

"Who're you calling short, you overgrown tin can?" Ed snapped, almost involuntarily. He stopped his advance, barely five steps from the giant, and the difference between them was even clearer. Ed wasn't scrawny by most standards anymore, but merely standing in front of the giant touched a still-raw nerve.

The man stared impassively down at him. No reaction to his outburst at all.

The former alchemist calmed slightly, taking the moment to examine the armour more carefully. Come to think of it, he couldn't recall being able to discern such detail, even when this close, throughout any of the dreams so far… In fact, he could almost even make out the shape of the symbol adorning the giant's barrel chest, a glinting, green…

The giant crossed his arms, and Ed blinked, the moment having passed.

_Was he covering it so I couldn't see it, or was it just a coincidence? He's never done that before…_

"You have questions?"

It was nearly time to go.

"Yeah, you're damn right I have questions. What is this place? Why do you keep bringing me here, in my dreams? And most important of all…" He took a deep breath. "Just who the hell are you, anyway?"

His finger descended to point accusingly at the man at the altar. Silence resumed, and the giant turned away, facing out towards the shrouded rear windows of the church.

Ed lowered his arm and sighed, then walked up the last few steps to the foot of the altar.

The smoke suddenly grew thicker, and his vision began to blur. A great rushing wind drowned out his hearing as he fought to stay standing.

It was the strangest sensation of being pulled backwards – not physically, but having his consciousness yanked to the waking world.

He felt his memories of the dream – and the ones before it - start to slip away once more, and this time made no effort to keep them. What was the point?

He looked up and caught sight of the giant again, bathed in the light cascading through the windows.

"I am not the one calling you to this place. Prepare yourself for the shadows to come."

"W-what?" Ed was astounded that the giant had spoken again, and actually answered one of his questions at that. "Wait? What do you mean, you're not bringing me here? What do you mean, "the shadows to come"!" Darkness claimed his vision. "What do you-"

He fell forever.

* * *

The giant lingered a moment longer in the aisle, staring at the spot where Ed had stood moments before. He turned and turned back to the altar as the dream began to dissolve, the connection to Ed lost.

He reached for his weapons and drew up into a combat stance as the light faded and the shadows returned.

Ed started awake, disturbing the suitcase balanced precariously on the seat next to him, sending it tumbling over with an almighty crash. One of the railway staff popped his head around the door.

"Everything all right, young sir?" He asked, noticing the fallen luggage and the former alchemist rubbing his head where he had struck it on the curved ceiling above.

"I'm… fine, thanks." Ed muttered, wincing and looking out of the window. It had been dark when he had boarded the train, but now it was the early light of mid-morning. Fields and trees flashed past, alongside the occasional village far off in the distance.

"We'll be arriving in Central City shortly." The man informed him, and left.

* * *

Ed continued to rub his forehead as he contemplated returning at last to Central, and soon after to the place of his birth, Resembool. His time in the west had been wholly enjoyable and very interesting, but it felt good to be back in his home country once more… And then there was Winry.

He'd confessed to her the day of his departure in his own unusual alchemical way, and she had reciprocated. He wondered where they would go from there.

Then there was Al. He would be staying in Xing for a little longer before returning with Jerzo and Zampano; the distance between the two brothers had limited their ability to communicate, and so Ed was unsure exactly when they would meet again, but he looked forward to being able to see his brother again – and to be able to pool the knowledge that they had gained in the regions that they had visited.

Ed began to remember some of the surroundings that they passed, far-flung memories from over a year past triggering hints of recognition.

He was planning on surprising Winry later that night, and would be keen to get out of Central and head back to Resembool as quickly as possible. Sure, she knew that he would be back today, but probably didn't expect him to be back quite so soon.

His automail had survived the last year very well, and probably wouldn't need much more than a cursory maintenance for once.

He stretched and sat back into the leather of the seat as the train pulled in to Central and began to slow down as it approached the station.

For some reason, despite his otherwise optimistic mood, he felt an unusual sense of foreboding that he was unable to pin down. He quashed it, finding it easy to think about getting to see his friends again.

The sun flickered in and out of view through the window, blocked by alternating buildings, and casting deep shadows across the length of his compartment.

* * *

That's all for now. I'll update when I can, hopefully sometime early next week. First to guess the first crossover character – from the penultimate paragraph of the prologue – wins, well, nothing. But if you do get it before the next chapter, I'll be impressed. Get all of them and I'll be even more impressed. The crossover characters will be making their proper appearances in the story in reverse order of their appearances in the prologue.


	3. Solitary Cell

Once again my "schedule" dies horribly in a fire. I guess I'm incorrigible.

Anywho, I plan to attempt to update once more before I'm away for two weeks, so hopefully expect one more update before/on Friday.

Thanks for reviewing, FireAnne!

Chapter preview; the first guest star is revealed…

_There is strong shadow where there is much light._

_Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_

* * *

She glowered through the barred glass hatch of the locked door at where she presumed her captors were looking through, not that she could be sure.

_Damn one-way glass._

She had refused to talk after they had arrested her, responding with stony silence to even the most basic of questions. The men, who appeared to be some kind of Military Police – though with uniforms different from any country that she recognised – had been frustrated by her resistance, but had not attempted anything beyond simple, if vocally aggressive, questioning.

She wanted to think her silence was a choice, but was somewhat concerned that she no longer felt the _urge_ to reply to even the most sarcastic of taunts.

They had taken her handcuffs off at least, content that she wouldn't try anything stupid for the time being, or confident enough that they were equipped enough to stop her if she did get loose.

She wasn't sure whether or not to agree with that assessment, given how little she actually knew about her captors.

Or how little she knew about where she was, or about her little she knew of much of everything after the events of the past few days.

She sat down, her head suddenly spinning as she tried to recall the circumstances leading to her arrival in this strange place, where technology seemed so antiquated and there was a certain grimness to many of the members of the military she had briefly encountered so far, as if they had experienced something horrible in the past.

Straining, she remembered… walking with her friends… the latest, biggest, sale…

Then shock. Then darkness. Then staggering out of a massive, smoking crater in the ground, surrounded by armed soldiers.

But that was all she could summon, and she stopped trying, massaging her temple instead to ease the pain of a burgeoning headache.

She had been captured alone and parted from her friends on missions before, but this was different.

It was hard to tell, but she reckoned from that she had been gone two days. What would her friends think? Her boss? Her _parents?_

She was best known amongst those who knew her for her brains, her intelligence, but she couldn't fathom a way out of this. She had so little information to work on – _nothing about anything_ – what was the point?

_Where am I? Who are these people? What happened to me?_

* * *

Ed slammed the door of the carriage behind him as he jumped off the train. He picked up the unwieldy case and steered his way through the jostling crowd to a place off to the side where he could assess the situation.

It was nearly ten o'clock, and the next train to Resembool wouldn't depart for another two hours.

_Heh, all right. A chance to get some food before I go on._

He'd quickly eaten his way through all of the food he had packed when on the train, so refuelling seemed like a good idea.

Moreover, it would give him a chance to see how much Central had changed in the past year. Not that he wanted to stay any longer than he had to, but he _was_ a little curious.

He made his way back through the crowd, having to dodge a little less now that it was beginning to thin as more and more people boarded the train.

Despite the clear blue sky and shining sun, the station's courtyard was not actually very illuminated; Central's buildings were tall and imposing enough to reliably provide shade.

Ed quickly got his bearings, remembering the layout of the streets in the vicinity of the station, and that there was a café just around the corner to the left.

He had barely started walking in that direction before a bellowed cry stopped him in his tracks.

"EDWARD ELRIC!"

Birds scattered out of buildings and trees. Nearby cars skidded on the road.

He knew that voice.

_Oh hell._

Sure enough, as he turned to the right in the direction that the voice had come from he was enveloped in a crushing hug.

"EDWARD, MY BOY, IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG!" Major Armstrong had passed entirely unchanged in the year since Ed had last seen him. Neither his appearance, personality nor rank differed.

"Major… can't breathe…" Ed spluttered, beginning to turn blue. The Major released him, but continued beaming.

"How are you, young one, and how was your year in the west?"

"I'm good, thanks, and it was great. How've you been?"

"Must you ask? I am in peak physical and mental condition, as always." He flexed. Ed was surprised that his shirt stayed on.

The major was still beaming at him, and it unnerved Ed. Passers-by on the street were giving them a wide berth.

"That's… good. Listen, Major, I'm in a bit of rush, I'm getting a train to Resembool and I'm starving, can we catch up later?"

He injected the slightest note of pleading into his voice.

The major was oblivious.

"Oh, I can certainly understand wanting to see your friends again after so long, my friend, but I regret that I must postpone your reunion for a little longer!" Armstrong cried, sighing dramatically. "For you see, I have ORDERS to take you to Colonel Mustang that MUST be obeyed!"

_Mustang? What does he want?_

"Can't it wait?" Ed chose not to bother questioning the fact that Mustang wanted to speak with him at all in favour of delaying the meeting, which he hoped the major might be more likely to agree with. "I mean, I really do have a train to catch…"

"I am afraid not!" Another theatrical sigh. "He was ABSOLUTELY clear that he URGENTLY needs to speak with you about a matter of UTMOST IMPORTANCE!"

Armstrong grabbed one of Ed's arms in a vice grip and began dragging him off.

"H-hey! Watch it!"

"We have no more time for idle chatter! It is time to head to Colonel Mustang! We must delay no more!"

Somehow, utterly perplexing for Ed, Armstrong had managed to divest himself of his shirt in the short time before latching on to Ed.

* * *

Armstrong pulled him through the city streets, the bustling crowd parting before the tall major like a hot knife through butter.

He protested to begin with, but eventually gave up and let the major hustle him towards Mustang.

"What's the colonel even doing in Central right now anyway?" Ed huffed through short, sharp breaths.

The major, apparently unstrained by the brisk jog he was dragging Ed through, turned to look at him.

"I believe that he is here to petition for extra help regarding the Ishvalan region from the Fuhrer." He replied. "I only had a chance to speak briefly to him this morning myself, when he tasked me to fetch you."

_Right, of course… Armstrong isn't attached to Mustang's staff. Must've been the colonel calling in a favour._

_So why not just ask Hawkeye? Or Fuery? Or any of the others._

_Maybe he wants me to help him with something about Ishval, then. But why me?_

Ed gave up trying to divine Mustang's madness as Armstrong hurried him towards the military quarters.

"Welcome back, Fullmetal. I take it you had a pleasant trip." Mustang smirked as Ed was deposited gently in the chair by Armstrong, worn clean out by the enforced pace.

Armstrong excused himself quickly, receiving thanks from the colonel for bringing Ed.

Ed muttered something uncharitable about Mustang, his voice low. He looked around the room while he was getting his breath back; the office was spartan, but he supposed it was only temporary. Hawkeye stood behind Mustang, as ever, her expression stoic but a slight twinkle in her eye indicating that she was pleased to see him again. He took note of the third silver star on her rank slide, recognising her promotion to captain – as well as Mustang's promotion to full-bird colonel.

"It _was _pleasant until I got back to Central, but thanks for the welcome anyway. Congratulations on the promotions – both of you."

Hawkeye nodded appreciatively and Mustang shrugged.

"It was pretty much inevitable, but thanks anyway." He said dismissively. "I'm sure you were happy to see Major Armstrong again though."

Ed winced.

"You couldn't have sent Hawkeye?"

"I was busy. Sorry, Ed." She smiled apologetically.

_Yeah, I bet only because Mustang made you busy._

"I take it you enjoyed the west?"

"Yes, yes, it was great, blah blah blah." Ed rushed. "Can we get on with this?"

"In a hurry, Fullmetal? No time to catch up?"

Ed let his question hang, and the Flame Alchemist's eyes narrowed; he took the hint that the younger alchemist wouldn't repeat himself.

"Fine, I'll cut to the chase." He opened his desk and pulled out a dossier marked "Top Secret". He pushed it over the table to Ed. "I've got a little work for you."

"I'm not interested." Ed responded automatically, barely even glancing at the folder in front of him. He just wanted to go home, and had no time for Mustang's games.

"It's nothing too arduous, I promise you." Hawkeye put in.

Ed was unmoved.

"The answer's no. Now, can I go? I've got a train to catch."

The colonel pursed his lips.

"At least read it, Ed. This is an important matter of state security that I think you'll be very suited to dealing with."

Ed sighed, but, against his better judgment, began to flick through the pages.

He was curious now despite himself.

"A meteor from the sky? A suspicious individual coming out of the crater?" He summarised. "Individual being held in solitary confinement in Central Prison four, guarded by MPs… Remains uncooperative."

Which was all very strange and interesting and all, but didn't explain why Mustang thought he was suitable…

He reached the last page and found a note. His face darkened.

"Oh, I see."

"Hmm?"

Ed held up a note from the Fuhrer addressed to the Flame Alchemist.

"… Oops. Forgot to take that out, huh."

Hawkeye brought her palm to her face.

"You're just trying to foist this on me, aren't you?" Ed raised his voice angrily and pointed accusatorially at the man across the desk.

Mustang narrowed his eyes again, his tone becoming more serious as he stared Ed down.

"This is an important matter, Fullmetal. I honestly do believe that your skillset is more suited to this task than mine."

"Then what is the task? All we have here is intel."

"The Fuhrer wants someone to get to the bottom of this mystery as quickly as possible." Hawkeye explained as the colonel nodded. "That means find out who this person is, how they got here and what they want."

"And do that… how?" The lack of specifics was beginning to irritate Ed.

"However you want. Quiz them, interrogate them, befriend them… For all I care." The last part was muttered just low enough so that Ed did not hear, but Hawkeye frowned and nudged him in response. "You'll have full discretion."

It was an interesting prospect, but Ed was put off by the fact that he had only just returned from one adventure, and wanted to see his friends above all else – Winry in particular. And, of course, his brother – Alphonse was only a week or two away as well.

With a heavy look at the dossier, Ed pushed it back across the desk to the colonel.

He didn't like the contents of the case file and their treatment of the prisoner so far, and while he understood why they had a right to be careful, that didn't give Mustang the right to drop it on him.

"The answer's still no." He said, attempting an air of finality, standing up. "Besides, I'm not a State Alchemist anymore, so it's not like you can just order me around."

His state certification had expired the year after the Promised Day when he had not even turned up for the evaluation.

There wasn't much point. He figured that one couldn't really be a state alchemist without the ability to use alchemy.

Mustang had been waiting for this. It was time to play his trump.

"What if I could get you re-certified?"

Ed had been turning to get out from behind the desk and push the chair in behind him, but this stopped him in his tracks.

"Come again?"

Mustang grinned.

_Got you._

* * *

Ed looked angrily at the address and map he had been given as he made his way back through the streets of Central, past the station and outwards to the south-east of the city. Getting that train – hell, getting any train to Resembool in the near future - seemed highly unlikely.

Still, he couldn't complain too much; it was an amazing offer.

"But – I can't even use alchemy!" He had protested.

"But you research it pretty much full time." Mustang had countered. "More than I do, anyway. Plus, who knows? There could be an alchemical background to this case."

The unspoken acknowledgement between them was the return of the research grant back into Ed's hands. He'd sorely missed having it in the past few year or so whenever money became tight abroad, even with a generous exchange rate. Having that much money to spend again would make his life much easier and broaden the potential of his research. He already had new ideas for experiments utilising western knowledge of alchemy that would be in his grasp with the grant again…

More than that, really, was the return of his state certification. Even with the stigma of being the dogs of the military, it had been the proudest moment of his young life to achieve state certification, made even sweeter by Alphonse's presence alongside him.

It had meant that he would be able to undertake real research to find a way to get their original bodies back, an unbelievably bright line of hope in those dark days.

Sure, he wasn't keen on submitting to military authority once more, but this case seemed like it would give him practically a blank cheque to sort the issue. Anyway, he could always quit once it was over. He doubted the Fuhrer would mind so long as the job was done.

Mustang had promised to make it official as soon as possible, but had immediately given the reactivated Fullmetal Alchemist a warrant to act as his proxy, as well as directions to the prison.

Ed knew the colonel was using him, simply offloading the case to him to avoid the trouble, but he didn't care too much. They could both play the system for all it was worth and still come out on top.

He paused as he came to a payphone on the penultimate street en route to the prison.

He had a call to make.

* * *

The telephone box was cramped and he barely had room to drop his suitcase to the side before shutting the door for some privacy.

He fished around for some change and found enough to make a call. He dialled the number easily and quickly, aided by familiarity.

She picked up straight away. He knew she'd be back from Rush Valley around this time.

"Hi, Rockbell residence, Winry speaking."

It had been only a week since their last conversation over the phone, but Ed was still glad to hear her voice again.

"Hey, Winry, it's Ed."

He heard the gasp through the phone.

"Ed?" The disbelief was plain in her voice. "You actually called for once?"

"Come on, I've been calling you all year!" He pointed out indignantly.

"… Your automail's broken, isn't it?"

Ed paused before replying and jiggled his leg about as far as he could move it in the enclosed space. It was a little stiff, but seemed otherwise fine.

"No. No it's not."

"… Really?"

"Yes, really!" He growled.

"Well, that's okay then!" She said happily and catching Ed off guard; he had expected more of an argument. "How was your last week abroad?"

He told her briefly about his final studies in the Cretan libraries before she began enthusiastically recounting her most recent work in Rush Valley.

The conversation carried on for a few more minutes until he realised that he only had the funds for another minute and a half on the line.

He told her this, then paused and sighed.

"Listen, Winry… I can't make it back today."

"What?" She cried. "But you're back in Central, it's only one train away!"

"I know, but Colonel Mustang's given me some… work to do."

"Mustang? But you're not a state alchemist anymore!"

"I know, I know, it's complicated. But it means that I won't be able to get back today, most likely."

"Huh… Then when will you be back?"

Ed pursed his lips.

"I'm not sure. Look… I'm really sorry, Winry."

He heard a long, drawn out sigh.

"It's… all right. You get whatever it is done quickly so you can come home. Al's back in less than two weeks, after all."

She sounded extremely disappointed, and Ed hated that.

"Yeah… Look, thanks for understanding, Winry."

"You'd better call before you come back, though!" She snapped down the phone.

"I will, I promise… See ya then, I guess."

_Whenever then is._

"… Goodbye, Ed."

The line went dead.

Ed slammed the phone down and cursed loudly. _I could've handled that better…_

* * *

Pinako found Winry later that afternoon, head down on the table and staring into space.

"Dinner will be ready around five o'clock." No response. "Winry? What's the matter?"

No reply to that, either, but Pinako had a pretty good hunch to work off anyway.

"Ed's not coming home today, is he?" She guessed.

"No." mumbled Winry.

"I'm sorry."

Pinako knew how much her granddaughter had been looking forward to seeing Ed again, given the way she had been talking almost _non-stop _about it for the past week.

She reached up to pat Winry's blonde-covered head gently in sympathy. Winry looked up at her grandmother sadly.

"I know he has important stuff to do and I don't mind that he has to do it, but I just wish he had a little more time for me…"

* * *

Ed arrived at the Central's fourth prison relatively quickly after finishing the call, still annoyed at himself for how it went.

Getting inside was uncomplicated, especially after one of the guards recognised him as the hero of Amestris. All it took after that was for him to wave the dossier at them and ask to see the prisoner, and he was on his way.

The outside of the prison, and the reception area, was clean and respectable, but he had no opportunity to witness the conditions of the regular cells. He chose not to think about it too much as he was taken to the area set aside for solitary confinement.

The military police escorted him downwards into the building, down into a dark, dank basement lined with empty, locked rooms. All empty save one.

"She hasn't said a word since she got here, sir, that's almost-" One of the guards told him as they walked.

"Two days." Ed recalled the report. _I couldn't imagine staying silent for two whole days…_

They reached the end of the basement hall and the guard handed him the key for the door, promising to stay outside in case they were needed.

Ed hoped that precaution wouldn't be necessary.

He took a look inside the cell before going inside, seeing the prisoner straight away. A young woman was slumped across the table, asleep. What immediately drew Ed's eye was her shockingly bright red hair, practically unheard of in Amestris. He'd read the report, of course, but it was still a surprise to see it in person.

It also made him uncomfortable; hell, the whole prison did. A dark reminder of Amestris' vile past.

Taking a deep breath, he turned the key in the lock and opened the door.

* * *

She jolted awake as the lock clicked and pushed her unkempt hair out of her eyes as the door opened.

She hadn't had a shower or change of clothes in two days, after all. It was frankly disgusting, but at least they had provided a sink and some soap in the cell… and a separate room for the toilet.

She expected to see another of the military policemen or at least someone else in military uniform, but found herself staring at a man who seemed not much older than she was; tall, with blonde hair, and wearing a grey suit.

She had been planning to glare once again at the next person to enter the room, but ended up looking confused instead.

_No, he definitely isn't military like the others._

Even so, she still wouldn't say anything to him.

He stared down at her curiously before shutting the door behind him.

"My name's Edward Elric. Call me Ed." He said, and pulled out the seat at the table opposite her. "I've been assigned to your case."

He waited for a response. She didn't give him one, just staring instead at him. He stared back. Green eyes against gold.

Breaking the staring contest for, this Edward Elric waved a few papers in front of her and then eyed her carefully again.

"I've got a few questions I need to ask you. Standard procedure, you understand?"

She shrugged, and he seemed to take that as a positive response. He listed off a bunch of questions, all that she had been asked before.

Her answers remained unchanged.

Silence.

He finished reeling off the last question and reassembled the files, then looked thoughtfully over at her. She kept her face blank.

"All right, all right, not much of a talker, I get it." He casually stood up, pocketing the paper, then wrenched open the door to her cell and walked out of sight.

_Leaving the door open._

A few moments passed and he popped his head back around the door quizzically.

"Are you coming or what?" He asked, and then disappeared again.

She hesitated a little longer before standing up slowly from the table. The muscles in her legs were asleep from underuse and she almost stumbled, but managed to keep her balance and walk out of the room into the corridor.

_Well, this is a novel way of dealing with a prisoner_. She didn't think she'd ever done it back at work_. Too much of a risk of letting villains escape._

She wondered if it was a trap.

The guard outside her room looked at her as she stepped into his view, unsure of whether to stop her, but was stymied by the sight of the man beckoning her over to the end of the hall and the stairs leading upwards.

She had been blindfolded when they first found her, probably having noticed the strange circumstances of her arrival. She hadn't even seen the corridor before, but it was as dark and dank as the cell.

* * *

The blonde man smirked as she caught up to him.

"Geez, you're a little slow, aren't you?"

It was getting harder not to react now, a conscious effort of will not to be drawn in to his taunts instead of acting coldly indifferent to attempts at intelligence gathering.

He led her up the stairs into a brightly lit, empty room and then an elevator from there.

The light was blinding for someone who had spent the past two days in a shadowy cell.

The elevator took them up two, maybe three floors while the man next to her hummed a tune. It was a bit of a rough ride, machinery clanking externally with an unsettling regularity.

The lift clanked and the doors opened, bathing her in the glorious natural light of the midday sun. She made slits of her eyes and shielded them with her arm, as the man gently guided her a few steps forward.

She could taste amazingly fresh air and hear the hustle and bustle of a city behind them.

When they finally adapted and she could begin to see clearly, she gasped.

They were on the battlements of some kind of castle – no, she corrected herself as she span around and saw the city behind them – some kind of wall. The horizon stretched out far off in the distance, and she was granted an amazing view of the grasslands below.

She took a few, uncertain steps forward, disoriented by the suddenly clear air and the illumination.

The man – Edward, she remembered, smiled at her as she turned to gape at him.

"Let me give you a proper welcome to Central City, capital of Amestris." He gestured outwards, his tone sickeningly, falsely sweet and yet sympathetic at the same time. "They built this prison into the south-east wall."

She looked blankly at him after his naming of the state, and then took another look across the horizon.

"We've been through a lot in the past couple of years. Wars, a coup, and a battle against a terrible evil." He spoke conversationally, but she could hear the hurt in his voice. "We're cautious because we've been through a great deal. That's why you've been treated like this. It's not an excuse… But it's an explanation."

She could accept that. She wasn't happy, and she could only describe the past two days as a difficult ordeal, but she could also see the weight of pain and history in his eyes and recognise it in his tone.

It sounded a lot worse than even the most stressful of situations that she had been through as an international spy.

They stared out at the scene in front of them for a few more minutes.

"The countryside… It's… It's lovely."

Ed hadn't spoken. She had.

The words came out as a whisper, her voice raw from disuse.

He looked at her, surprised by her sudden speech.

"Sam." She said at last, still looked at the view. "My name is Samantha Simpson. You can call me Sam."

* * *

Well, there's the end of chapter two, and our first guest character is _Sam,_ from Totally Spies. Next time we'll go deeper into Sam's arrival in Amestris, what the military – and what Ed – plans to do about her, and carry on from there.


	4. Casual Conversation

So I've pushed this chapter out for today (Friday) to make up for the two week gap just gone and the forthcoming two week absence I'll be taking shortly. When I get back from that, my first priority will be updating_ Venatus_, so we'll see how it goes.

As I said at the end of last chapter, today we're going deeper into Sam's situation and Amestris too.

_There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve; fear of failure._

_Paulo Coelho_

* * *

Neither Ed nor Sam spoke very much in the hour or so after he escorted her free from the prison, but not out of purposeful obtuseness.

Indeed, they rather had both of their mouths full. Literally so.

Ed had led the way back to the elevator and down from the wall, this time turning away from the stairs and heading outside. Sam followed as best as she could; he was walking impressively fast.

He'd told her to wait in the courtyard while he sorted things out with the guards. She had watched him talk animatedly to them, gesturing to her and waving the papers he was carrying harshly in front of them. They had seemed reluctant, but it had only taken the blonde man five minutes to convince them, and he had beckoned her over to the gate and to freedom.

"Hungry?" He'd asked straight away outside the gates, as she had drunk in the sights and sounds of this "Central City", no longer obscured by walls and blindfolds, illuminated in the afternoon sun.

Sam's stomach was kind enough to answer the question for her with a hearty growl. Embarrassed, she had nodded.

The prison wardens didn't exactly provide much during her stay, after all.

"Good! 'Cause so am I. Let's go get something to eat."

And so she found herself in a quaint, rustic café wolfing down a lot of meat, fish, bread, fruit and vegetables to make up for lost time.

Clover and Alex back home had enjoyed recalling the time when, having had her intelligence drained, Sam had once eaten a hot towel and apparently suffered no ill effects.

_Clover… Alex…_

She'd only spoken to them barely a weekend's length ago and yet they seemed so far away now.

She still wasn't sure what to make of Ed, but trusted him more than anyone else she had encountered in the last few days. He was presently chewing his way with as much gusto as she was; he really was hungry too.

He took a little longer than she did to finish, having ordered slightly more, but the end of the meal signalled the start of conversation.

"So," He started. "Let's talk."

"What about?"

"Proper introductions would be a start, I'd say."

"All right." It was clear that he expected her to go first. "As I said, my name's Samantha – Sam - Simpson. I'm eighteen years old."

"Edward Elric, nineteen. I thought we were about the same age, but let's get on to the important stuff. Where're you from?"

Sam considered the question carefully. She'd never heard of a place called Amestris, historical or otherwise, which to her left two distinct possibilities; either this was a trick on an epic scale, or she was very far from home indeed.

She could lie, or be very vague, but would it really help?

Plus, the man opposite had just bought and paid for a massive meal for her…

"I'm from Beverly Hills in the USA." She decided on the truth.

"USA?" He asked.

"Uh… the United States of America."

"Never heard of it." He responded briskly. "But I'm guessing you're not all that familiar with Amestris either?"

"No. I'd never heard of it… Until I got here, that is." She mirrored.

"How _did _you get here?"

_If only I knew…_

"No idea." Sam replied. "All I remember is going out in the middle of the day to shop with my friends – then darkness – then I woke up in that crater next to the meteor.

"And you were home before you blacked out."

"Yeah."

Ed said nothing in response, fishing around in his pockets and lapsing into silence for a moment which gave her a chance to swig her drink. It was a strange, but pleasant, fruit juice blend. Probably locally and naturally sourced too, given what little she had seen of the country.

"I'll give you a quick geography lesson then, since we're kind of in it." He pulled out a blank piece of paper and a pen, drawing a crude map upon the paper and marking out five points.

"This is Amestris… roughly, anyway." He grimaced at his shoddy art, and then pointed to a centre dot. "This in the middle is the capital, Central City, where we are now. Each of the regions – north, east, south and west - has its own military command for dealing with border issues and rebellions."

"I'm guessing that this isn't exactly a democracy, then?"

He looked up, and shook his head.

"I'm not great with politics, but no. We've been making progress, but it's hard to change so quickly when your entire system is built around central, military control."

"I know of countries ruled my military councils – juntas."

"This wasn't quite the same as a council. The Fuhrer is the head of state and leader of the military, and the previous one we had was part of a nationwide conspiracy to sacrifice the entire country."

"Go… on."

"Something wrong?" He frowned.

"N-no, just carry on." _Fuhrer? Nationwide conspiracy?_

Ed looked perplexed at her sudden reaction, but carried on.

"We fought the fuhrer, his brothers and sisters and their creator, and defeated them with our alchemy and the strength of our hearts… But not without loss. Now the nation is changing, and I think for the better." He watched her carefully.

Sam had so many questions. Alchemy and Fuhrers?

She knew she had to be careful though; the delivery of his last line made it clear that this was still a difficult memory for the young man to face.

Then she realised a question that would confirm her growing suspicious about the nature of her arrival.

"What's the year?"

"1918. Why?"

"Ah."

"Ah?"

"Last time I was with my friends we were in the year 2013…"

"Uh…"

They sat in silence trying to work this out before Sam settled for another question; the broadest, most obvious query.

"What's alchemy?"

He spat out his drink.

* * *

"And to summarise, once again, basic alchemy all comes down to the law of equivalent exchange." He finished happily, and at last. It was clearly one of Ed's pet subjects and he relished talking about it.

It was fascinating from her intellectual perspective. "Alchemists" from the stories and legends she heard about had always been concerned with transmuting lead into gold and the like; they were never really considered serious, historical fact. The way Ed described it, it not only seemed to be real – it seemed _marvellous._

They were outside now, Ed having paid the bill and the tip. It was late afternoon, the sun having diminished a little in its position streaking across the sky.

They were on their way to a quality hotel, according to Ed. Where he obtained all the money to splash around like this, she had no idea…

Cars that seemed antiquated to her zoomed past on the roads now that they were well out of the way of the military area. She didn't think that she had ever seen a capital city with roads so empty.

"So, the bottom line is, it's a bit like chemistry…" She started, waiting for confirmation. Even if his speech had been long, she'd found it enlightening nonetheless.

"Mmm."

"But it's not magic?" She didn't believe in that kind of superstitious supernatural approach anyway, but Ed had been pretty clear in stressing a distinction. He nodded.

"And you can only get out what you put in?"

"You've got it. If the value – the balance – is unequal, bad things start to happen."

"This – this alchemy thing, I mean – I really have to see it to believe it."

"Fair enough." He shrugged. "I can't argue with scepticism, just as long as you can change your mind in the face of overwhelming evidence."

"Can you do some alchemy for me now then? Please." She asked innocently, puppy dog eyes going to work.

He found it difficult to say no for a moment, before sense and memory came crashing back down.

"No, sorry. I can't perform alchemy anymore, not since the final battle I mentioned."

"You can't do it anymore? How'd that happen?"

"Sacrifice." He said sadly, and she let the issue drop.

A few streets on, Sam realised that people had begun to stare at her intently. Not just one gender or the other, but quite a few people had started staring as she walked past.

"Why do they keep looking at me?"

"Your hair." Edward answered. "Very few people have red hair in Amestris, and when it's as bright as yours, people tend to notice."

She scanned the area around her and realised the truth of his words. Lots of blondes, many brunettes, a few with black hair but none with shades even approaching red.

"Huh…"

* * *

They arrived at the hotel around five o'clock, and Ed checked them in.

It was a nice hotel, not too expensive (or so she was told) but still of good quality.

She'd stayed in better over the course of her career as a WOOHP agent, but it felt wrong to try to compare the standards of the twenty first century with 1918…

She hadn't talked about it with her guide, but she suspected he had the same idea that she was having.

_Parallel worlds. The multiverse theory is there; just no-one's ever been able to offer any concrete proof. Guess I can count myself lucky to support it like this._

She wasn't sure whether or not to tell Ed about her line of work; she'd found claiming to be an "international spy" rarely went down well with any hosts.

She'd frame it in the best possible light when she had to deal with it as a problem.

Ed got them two rooms opposite each other on the second floor, and told her to go and get some rest immediately. Until he pointed it out, she hadn't realised that she'd been yawning every twenty seconds or so.

"Thanks for all this, Ed." She mumbled as he dropped her key into her hands. "I really don't kn-kn-" She was interrupted by a yawn. "…know what I would've done if you weren't here."

"Don't mention it; you can pay me back later." He winked and walked off, having other business to do while she clambered upstairs to get some much needed sleep.

* * *

Ed had in fact stalked off to meet Mustang, skirting through increasingly long shadows as he took shortcuts to reach the colonel's temporary office.

"So you really think she's telling the truth? That she really doesn't know anything about Amestris whatsoever?"

"Yeah, I do."

"How does that work, then?"

"We've got a few theories between us, I reckon, but I'm thinking that she's from some kind of alternate dimension."

"And ahead of the timeline, then, if she's truly from 2013?"

"Yes, but I think the important thing is just how different her world is from ours – if we assume along the lines of this theory. I mean, if so, her world doesn't even have _alchemy,_ colonel…"

Mustang mulled this over.

"I'm no engineer, let alone a temporal one, but we both know from our encounters with the Truth that alternate realities do exist. I think you might be right, Fullmetal."

"You expected otherwise from someone with such a "suitable skillset?" Ed smirked. Roy winced at his own words being used against him, but suddenly remembered something.

"It just occurred to me." He passed Ed another dossier. "The Fuhrer approves of your appointment to this case, so looks like it's up to you to solve it and deal with any problems in the meantime. I'm heading back east tomorrow; Hawkeye's getting the tickets now." He indicated the empty space to his left.

"Great." Ed muttered, his tone now neutral.

He was a lot more mixed in his view of the case since actually meeting Sam. Sure, he'd miss Winry more and more every day, but was intrigued by Sam's mystery and found her company to be pleasant thus far.

_Who knew what they might uncover?_

"She's actually pretty lucky, you know." Mustang added after a pregnant pause. "If she'd turned up only three years ago she'd have had to deal with everything to do with the Promised Day." Ed grimaced. "I bet Bradley would have had nowhere near as much tolerance as Grumman for someone appearing out of thin air."

"True, but I wouldn't call being plucked from your normal life away from your family and friends, waking up dazed and confused and then being arrested by a bunch of military police exactly "_lucky"."_ Ed countered.

Mustang stared at Ed's covered automail left leg and then raised a hand to wave across his own face, then shrugged.

"Everything's relative." He whispered.

* * *

Next time – more Sam and Ed, and – right at the end – the second guest character makes his entrance.


	5. Dinner and Discussions

I could say that I'm the worst person ever when it comes to updating my fanfiction and I probably wouldn't be far off.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, Totally Spies, their characters or any other shows/characters referenced or used in this fan fiction.

So, again, apologies, and apologies to anyone who also reads Venatus. The last few months have been swept away in a tide of apathy, writer's block and the curse of World of Warcraft, and for that I apologise.

But we're back here now with another chapter of Shadows and Dreams! With any luck, I might even have a chapter of Venatus out too in the next few days…

Thanks for the reviews, S J Smith!

I've actually done two chapters at once here; I had planned on only writing one but it just kept going and going so I split it into two. Enjoy!

"_Stop in somebody's shadow to rest and cool down, and you are lost. No one can make anyone else happy." – Peter Deunov_

* * *

It wasn't the first time that Sam had woken in a room still unfamiliar to her, but that didn't make it any less jarring.

She'd barely slept at all in the two days before, existing in a strange in-between state of drowsy wakefulness. Eating at the restaurant and having a walk around town had given her a burst of energy, but it had worn off the second she had surrendered to the silky sheets. She had drifted off immediately and slept well thereafter.

Very well. Midday was long gone by the time she started to stir and stretched out of the covers, yawning heavily.

She tensed up as soon as she became alert to her surroundings, her mind racing for a moment over the possibilities of her being kidnapped and placed their while she slept. Years of training as an international spy made that a standard reaction. Then the memories of the previous day flooded back to her. She relaxed her muscles a little and fell back onto the bed, taking deep breaths and calming slightly. Ever so slightly.

The fact that she was no longer locked up in a dank, dark prison did little to assuage the fact that she was still lost in a world not her own, away from her friends and family. A fish out of water.

She missed Clover's relentless gossiping and Alex's cheerful innocence already, and it had only been three days. _How badly might I miss them after a month? A year?_

Sam sat on the bed for a little while, hugging the duvet to her knees, taking deeper and deeper breaths in an effort to calm herself down. For the most part, she was successful.

She hadn't been like this the day before, she realised. But then, she had been a little distracted, being as hungry and tired as she was yesterday.

_Alchemy, fuhrers and 1918. This is totally a parallel world. And time travel, too?_

She fell back onto the covers with a sigh.

Sleep didn't greet her this time, though. She had too much on her mind.

She glanced at the clock on the wall, painted to complement the background perfectly. Everything matched or at least worked aesthetically in the room, from the curtains to the carpet to the extinguished fireplace in the center of the room. You didn't get this level of attention to detail in a cheap hotel, that was for sure.

As she took in the room once more, Sam noticed that a note had been slipped under the door.

It was from Ed, unsurprisingly_._

_Sam,_

_Look outside your room; you're welcome, by the way. Knock on my door when you're up and ready._

_Ed_

Puzzled, she unlocked the door and picked up the shopping bag that had been left outside. It was full of clothes that had clearly been bought that morning.

Only then did she realise what kind of a state her own clothes were in – her only possessions at this point, aside from her purse, she realised. Three days without a shower or a change…

Sam took the bag inside and locked the door again. She felt fairly safe inside the hotel, but still, with only one friend in the whole world right now, she couldn't be too careful.

She laid the gifts out on the bed and studied them sadly. A modest top and pants, a jacket, socks and some underwear. _At least it isn't a dress…_

It wasn't the quality; they were probably expensive, in fact, from what she knew of Ed.

They were simply a reminder of how far she was out of her time. She had no words for the type of fashion that they were. Well, just one. '_Old'. _

Sam sighed. Clover would kill her for this. She smiled at the memories of their arguments, and realised something else.

That her friends would never stop looking for her. What was a little dimensional travel, right? They'd done more than that together.

They'd find her.

With this knowledge in her mind, her spirits lifted a little, Sam went to make sense of her en-suite bathroom.

* * *

Ed started awake at the knocking on his door. He'd gotten some sleep the night before, but he'd been thinking too much to rest for long. He'd been to the library the night before and taken out a stack of books, many for Sam, but some for himself.

He was sprawled over the desk provided by the hotel, a notepad half-full in front of him.

The knocks sounded off again, and Ed pushed himself up off the desk to respond.

"Coming!" He called and walked over to the door, then opened it to see Sam.

"Great, you're up at last." He smiled to show that he meant no offense. "I wondered if I'd see you at all today."

"Yeah, well…" She returned the smile awkwardly. "I guess I really needed it."

"No doubt. Come on in." He stood aside to let her pass, and she plonked herself down cross-legged on the bed. "I guess that we should start working out how you got here, and how to send you back."

"That would be great." She replied enthusiastically, then blushed, embarrassed. "I mean, not that I don't appreciate what you've done for me, but-"

"What, all this?" Ed shrugged. "Don't thank me. Thank the state alchemy programme, and the huge grants it gives to certified persons for research. My certification was returned yesterday, so all of this is on the state. I'd say take advantage of it as much as possible, really."

Sam chuckled, then quickly explained when he looked confused.

"Sorry, you just reminded me of a time when a friend of mine borrowed a credit card from WOO-uh, I mean, work, and ran up a stupid debt on it."

"What's a credit card?" Ed frowned.

"Oh, uh… It's a future thing. Don't worry about it."

She looked away, clearly wanting to change the subject, so Ed let the matter drop.

"Anyway… I thought I'd start by looking for similar incidents that might have happened before, so I took out a lot of books from the library." He indicated one of the stacks of books. "I haven't had any luck yet, but why don't you take a look too?"

The huge grin that appeared on her face as she eyed the pile told Ed that he had guessed correctly about the redhead with not a lot of evidence to go on – she was a bookworm. She flicked across the covers, skimming through the pile for a moment before fishing out a volume on the history of Amestris, opening it to the first page and starting to read.

It suddenly struck Ed as he watched her fixate upon the text with an intense stare that she was very pretty. Even ignoring her unusual hair, she had a certain something to her face; she wasn't hawkish, nor timid, but there was a something about her that suggested she was pleasant.

He hadn't noticed before, mostly because she had been covered in dirt, dust and had generally looked bedraggled. Now that she had cleaned up and had some rest, however…

She was attractive, without a doubt…

He snapped himself out of such thoughts. He barely knew her. She was younger them him, that much was obvious – two years at least, he guessed, which at his age still made a world of difference. And, most importantly, there was Winry.

Hawkeye had been right, those several years ago. He did love Winry. He wanted to – he was focused on - admitting it to her as soon as possible, or, at least, saying it in such a way that didn't involve alchemical metaphors…

He missed her more with each passing day, but couldn't return home now. He hadn't expected such a strange case, expecting it to be over quickly or at least possible for him to wash his hands of it after an evaluation and keep his certification.

But this?

Dimension hopping and apparent time travel?

Despite what he had said to Mustang about believing Sam had been the truth, but even so, part of his mind rebelled at how he – and Mustang, it had to be said – had so readily accepted her side of the story.

He felt he could trust her, but could she simply be insane?

She didn't seem out of her mind, and her clothes seemed to reinforce her claim – he'd never seen anything like the material that some of it was made from.

They read on in silence for a while, Ed searching for anything in the annals of history that reflected their situation, and Sam flicking through book after book after book, utterly absorbed.

Night fell without either realising it, until Ed happened to notice the time and opened the curtains to check. It was at about the same time that they both began to feel rather hungry, a fact quite quickly vocalised by their stomachs, much to their mutual embarrassment.

"My eating patterns are so out of it at the moment." Sam prodded at her belly sadly.

"I guess it's time for dinner, then. Want to order room service, or shall we go out to eat again?"

Sam thought for a moment before answering.

"I'd rather go out… If that's ok with you, anyway." She replied. "I'd like to see more of the city."

"'course it is." He said. "You're not a prisoner anymore, after all."

"It's going to be more expensive to eat out, though, and I'm not the one paying."

"True, but my grants can cover it either way." He'd barely scratched the surface, in fact. "I'll stop by the bank first; it's out of the way far enough that you should be able to get a good look at the rest of the city."

"Cool." She smiled, pulling on her jacket. They tidied the books away and left together.

* * *

"Long night, huh?"

Private Maxine Devois looked up from the watch post at the voice, rubbing her eyes.

It had been a long night (or afternoon) but it was only going to get worse. She still had another three hours of duty on the sentry post remaining.

She smiled at the sight and sound of her incoming sentry partner, cradling two steaming, full cups of coffee.

"Thanks." She took one.

"You're welcome. You looked like you would need it." Lance-Corporal Bran Tanhause set his own cup down and joined her, leaning his rifle on the desk.

The contrast between them was almost funny. She was tall where he was short. He was attentive, if somewhat narrow-minded, and she was easily distracted but had more original ideas.

He had served for four years already, through the war a few years back; she was a recent recruit.

And yet they were best of friends. It was a strange, strange world.

"This is the worst guard posting in the city, Staff." She flatly declared.

Tanhause blew on his coffee, then took a tentative sip.

"That it is." He agreed. "But you don't have to say that every time we're assigned here."

"Makes me feel better."

They weren't really guarding anything. At least the guards on the wall were protecting the city and the guards in the centre of Central were protecting something or someone important, like a base or even a military officer – even the fuhrer! Here, they were simply a second line of defence, sitting on a cold little watch post in the dead-quiet café district. Most were closed by five in the afternoon.

The two or three that were open had barely any customers left as it was. A car passed down the road once every five minutes, at most. The street lights flickered on and off unsettlingly.

They were, essentially, guarding a side street.

"Up for promotion, then, huh?" Tanhause asked after five more minutes of staring at nothing evaporated in front of them.

"Only to First Class, Bran, but yeah."

"It's still an important step up, Zeen." She winced. She hated that nickname.

"First PFC, wait ten years then – poof – you're sergeant."

"Not for you, though." She pointed out, and he shrugged. The war had put him on a fast track for future promotions; he'd be Corporal, then Sergeant, then probably Staff Sergeant, in the space of six years. And he'd only been on the periphery of the war, attached to an Eastern unit that had fought with Colonel Mustang, and had been combined with a Central unit after the dust had settled to account for the losses on both sides. She knew of one Private who had already reached the rank of Warrant Officer.

"Don't worry, Zeen, I'll remember you when I'm famous." He snickered. She gave a toothy, half-amused grin.

A man and a woman strolled nearby them through the night across the street, deep in conversation. One seemed to be a little older than the other, but what really drew her attention was the woman's shockingly bright hair. It was an interesting sight, certainly enough to attract their attention for a minute or two. She gazed after them until they disappeared around a street corner.

Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes passed as the night got darker and the last café owner packed up and went home.

"Two h-hours left, Bran." She stuttered, stifling a yawn.

"Not for me, I'm here all night." He grumbled crossly.

She made to retort but never got the chance.

There was no warning, no subtle hint, no chance to prepare.

A cacophony of light and sound erupted in the street ahead of them, shattering the night's serenity and quickly morphing into an actual explosion.

Tanhause reacted much faster than Devois, pulling her to the ground of the post down below the meagre protection of the desk as a wave of rushing heat flared over them.

The noise was heard for at least a mile around. Animals cowered in bushes, civilians rushed inside and bolted their doors, drawing their children and loved ones close. Military personnel rushed around in confusion as voices started shouting across the radio asking for damage and situation reports.

At least one general sighed and despaired over what might possibly be harming Central City this time.

* * *

Sam followed Ed down side streets and a main road, past locked-up shops and dimly-lit public spaces. The chance to see more of the city had been exactly what she had wanted, allowing her to compare and contrast Central to some of the cities she remembered seeing during some of her travels across her world.

It was all antique, but the architecture struck her as European from memories of the well-preserved monuments she had seen back home. Although it was a little presumptuous, and made the assumption that this world corresponded at all with hers (something which she had seen no evidence to suggest yet), she might even have guessed that Amestris corresponded to Germany.

_Fuhrer._

She had shuddered when Ed had first used the term, in particular in relation to an apparently evil dictator, but here, it had no such negative connotations. Or, at least, not quite such a terrible association could be made to the title instead of just the person; after all, they were still using it; it merely seemed tradition from what she had read.

Not that she liked it either way.

"Well," Ed was saying, and she forced herself to concentrate and listen to him. "I've told you a lot about my country, my world. Tell me about yours."

She hesitated, licking dry lips. It was another issue she had been debating to herself about, something else – alongside the question of her work – that was a sure danger area – that she didn't want to have to talk about.

"I don't know how much I should say."

"Hey, why not?" Ed asked sharply, confused and perhaps a little hurt. "I've been completely open with you."

She sighed, and tried to think about how best to phrase her problem.

"I mean… It's time travel, isn't it? Even if we ignore the fact that I'm no longer in the same place, the same world, I was almost a hundred years ahead of you, and believe me, the technology shows!" Ed frowned, trying to work out whether he was being called primitive. "I've read the stories. What if I damage the time stream or something by telling you about something – an invention – that isn't meant to happen in your world for another twenty years? That would be so uncool, not to mention probably dangerous! It's all theoretical, but how can I be sure?"

Ed was out of his depth himself. He'd admitted his ignorance about time travel to Mustang the night before, and, to his surprise, Mustang had professed the same.

"It's a zany theory, and, let's be honest, it's scientifically impossible…" The Flame Alchemist had grimaced. "… to the best of our knowledge. I wouldn't be surprised if she's lying, or simply confused."

Only a few credible alchemists had ever discussed the plausibility of time travel, and all had come to the conclusion that it was fundamentally impossible. Sam was talking about fictional tales as a reference point – not a good base that Ed would use to stand on very often – and there was nothing similar in Amestris. He couldn't think of one modern writer who had touched the subject.

Ed didn't like the idea that she was lying – it threw far too many things about her story into question, and he had to operate on the basis that he could trust her if he would ever be able to help her and sort the problem out. And he hoped that she knew that, too.

"Well, if you're that worried, don't tell me anything specific about the future. Just describe your country as best as you can." He decided to give up on wrapping his head around the fundamentals of time travel. For the moment.

* * *

Sam looked thoughtful, probably trying to work out if there was any danger to the idea.

"I suppose that would be ok… Well, then, I live in the United States of America. It's located in the west of my world and is made up of fifty states of various sizes that have a lot of differences but are united by tradition and the constitution laying down laws and basic rights."

"How did that happen, then?"

"Well, we were originally a colony of another country, but we fought for our independence and won. That was more than two hundred years ago. Since then, the number of states grew for thirteen to fifty as more territory was discovered or annexed. There was a civil war fought at one point – a group of states wanted to remove themselves from the union – but they lost and the country stayed united."

"Yeah, we're no strangers to civil war here." Ed said quietly, accounts of the Ishvalan Civil War and memories of the fighting on the Promised Day returning to his mind unwanted.

"I get the feeling you're skipping over a lot here." He said after they had walked on for a while, past one of the many watch posts manned by the Central soldiers. A bemused-female private watched them as they turned the corner at the end of the road.

"It's pretty hard not to." She shrugged. "The USA hasn't been around for a while, but it's had an eventful history."

Not that different from Amestris, then. In that respect, at least.

"What kind of person leads the country, then? Do you have some kind of fuhrer too?"

"N-no." He watched her twitch uncomfortably at the word again before continuing on to disguise the reaction. "We have an executive, legislature and judiciary – a president who makes the decisions, congress to legitimise them and the courts to uphold them. But the president and the representatives and senators are all regularly up for election, and there are term limits to prevent people from staying in power too long, and-"

"Huh. I can't imagine having an elected fuhrer. The military's too powerful to stand for that here." Ed mused as she started to ramble on about politics. He had definitely been right about the woman being a bookworm, no doubt about it.

"And then there's the divide between the left and right-"

"Ok, ok, that's enough detail. It sounds pretty liberal, then."

She nodded. Ed indicated that they had reached the bank and they stopped outside.

It really was starting to get late, but they would have ample time to swing back around and find a place to eat before everywhere closed.

"In comparison to Amestris, anyway."

"How so?" He was baiting her a little, wanting to get her view.

Sam shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm still not totally down with being held in a cell for two days after I apparently fell out of the sky."

"Would your government have acted any different?"

She thought about this for a moment, and then waved her hand dismissively.

"Whatever. Then there's the guards on every street corner, the history of violence and bloodshed – don't get me started about the northern border!"

She'd clearly absorbed a lot from the books and come to her own conclusions. Even in this new age there were few textbooks that referred to Amestris' military history as anything but a series of righteous triumphs, even if the Promised Day had shown just how wrong that view was. Then again, new books took time to produce and propagate.

"Surely America must have its share of questionable wars?"

Sam stared down at the floor, eyes down.

"We're not proud of them all, no."

"Then maybe our countries aren't so different after all." He offered sweetly, and turned to walk into the bank.

Sure, Amestris had a sliver of evil running through its core, of homunculi and manipulation that stretched back for many years. It seemed unlikely that Sam's America had anything like this from how she had described it, but…

Amestris was his country, and it was getting better. He wasn't all that much of a patriotic person, but he also wasn't going to sit there and listen to someone else talk about the superiority of theirs.

He hadn't told her about Father and the homunculi yet, and didn't plan to for a while. If he could avoid it until she made it back home, he would.

If the day-to-day running of Amestris was troubling her – from how little he knew that she had read about or experienced – then what would she make of such an epic conspiracy? Besides, she still had her secrets.

Ed resolved to keep his close too, at least for the moment.

Sam frowned after him.

"Maybe. Maybe not." She said at last, and followed him inside.


	6. Accidental Destruction

Back-to-back chapters! Like I said, this was written following on immediately from the last as I originally planned to have them together.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, Totally Spies, their characters or any other shows/characters referenced or used in this fan fiction.

"Dreams are the touchstones of our characters." ― Henry David Thoreau

* * *

"I'm telling you, I'm not normally this rich! This is all government money!"

"Whatever. I saw the look on the clerk's face when you withdrew all that. You so are loaded, Ed."

"S-shut up!"

They were arguing out on the bank's steps, attracting stares from the few remaining passers-by at that time of night not covered by the military curfew – most of them important officials or off-duty military personnel.

"I bet your house is huge." Sam teased.

"It's really not, actually." He fished in his coat for his wallet, and then picked out a photo to show her.

It was of himself, Al and Winry, taken the day Al had left for Central to then go on to the east.

Strictly speaking, his and Al's house was ash in the wind, burned on the day that they had chosen never to look back. But after living with Winry before the brothers had gone their separate directions, she had said as they had posed for that photo that it was good as theirs too.

"… Huh. Alright, that still looks pretty good." Sam stared at the photo, then pointed at Al and Winry. "Are they your brother and sister?"

"W-what?" Ed spluttered. "Winry's not my sister!"

"… Alright." Sam eyed him curiously and he felt his cheeks flush with crimson.

"Uh, but yeah, that's my brother, Alphonse." He recovered. "He's travelling in Xing, to the east, at the moment. The girl's called Winry, she's been our friend since we were kids."

"She's pretty." Sam said.

"Y-yeah. Uh, anyway…" Ed said, uncomfortable and seeking a diversion. From the way she was grinning at him, the redhead had far too much awareness about the situation for his liking._ Am I that easy to read? _"What about your house, then?"

"It's, uh, alright. I guess."

"Vague answer, huh?"

She didn't reply.

Ed paused, deciding how best to fish for information. They had already started walking in the direction of the restaurant district, which had a far less restrictive curfew.

"So you're that rich, huh?" He upped the level of snark in his voice to provoke some kind of reaction, and was not disappointed.

"What-? Hey, I'm not that…" She sighed, but didn't meet his eyes. "Oh, fine. I guess I am pretty rich – or, at least my family is. I'm just really lucky… That's why I don't like to boast about it. But how did you know?"

"I didn't. You just told me." He smirked.

Sam looked at him sharply.

"I – you – but – aargh! I can't think on an empty stomach!"

They were walking extremely slowly, but Ed saw it as a good chance to get to know more about this mysterious girl. Food could wait, and she seemed fairly talkative tonight.

"Heh. So, do you live with your parents?"

She shook her head, and fished inside her jacket.

"I go to college. Mali U, CA. I live in a penthouse with my friends, Clover and Alex. Good thing I had my purse on me." She held out a photo, and Ed marvelled at the definition and colour, but hid the reaction. Three faces stared happily out at him, all smiles. Sam stood in the middle, flanked by two other girls who must have been of a similar age. Both had short hair; but where one was blonde with straight bangs, the other's was a curly black. They stood in front of a beach with gleaming sand, arms around each other.

He nodded and handed it back.

"I miss them." She said sadly, and it suddenly struck him just how much fear and loneliness she was probably hiding behind the mask of her features. He wondered how well he would have handled it if the situation had been reversed. Probably with a liberal dose of sarcasm and swearing, if he were in her place, but then, she had only just arrived… "Ed… I will get back home, right?"

She needed hope and reassurance right now. They stopped walking, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sam," He started, but never had the chance to continue.

An explosion sounded off less than a mile away, briefly drowning them in a wave of sound. Disoriented, Ed didn't even realise that he had dropped out of instinct until he realised that he was on the floor. Sam had gone down even faster than he had – so fast that he wondered if she had trained for this sort of thing before.

"Oh, come on!" Ed roared at the night as the sound died and they pulled themselves up. Sirens started blaring in the distance. "What now?"

* * *

"Corporal- ack-" Private Devois choked out as a waft of smoke and small pieces of debris expanded towards them. The light was gone, but the street was obscured by the thick aftereffect of the explosion. "W-what the hell was t–that?"

"I –ack – I have no idea, but-" Tanhause froze, staring horrified into the smoke. "What the hell…"

The smoke had started to clear out. A shape had formed in the gloom, one that definitely not been there before.

A big shape.

Devois leapt for her rifle as Tanhause flicked the safety catch off on his.

The shape started to emerge from the smoke. A massive, scaly hand gripped a sign on the nearby wall and simply ripped it clean off.

Then the smoke finally fully cleared and the Central soldiers beheld a terrible sight.

Tanhause yelped and opened fire, pouring shot after shot into the monster on semi-automatic. Devois joined him seconds after, taking almost futile cover behind the desk.

* * *

They were running through the streets, retracing their steps towards the origin of the baleful sound.

"There!" Sam pointed ahead, and Ed looked up to see smoke billowing into the sky just a few streets onwards.

"Damnit!" He cursed and doubled his efforts, pushing his automail leg to its limits. To his surprise, the redhead had absolutely no problem keeping up with him, gracefully sprinting to maintain the pace.

"Not bad, Red." He commented, impressed.

"Red?"

"Yeah. I've been thinking about giving you a nickname for a while. Seems appropriate."

"Hell-o, what's the point of a nickname if my name's only one syllable anyway?" She shook her head despairingly.

They kept running.

Ed was expecting to run straight into some kind of battle when he rounded the corner to see the source of the explosion. Perhaps it had been orchestrated by some dissident nation opposed to Amestris, or maybe it was the start of a coup by one of the less-loyal generals?

Then again, it could also have been an accident.

Stranger things had happened.

As it turns out, it was about to get even stranger.

Right in the middle of the street stood a giant dinosaur, at least twelve foot tall all told – only it was somehow walking upright like a person. It had menacing green eyes, a tail that whipped back and forth behind its body, and wore a strange green sash draped across its chest.

Ed skidded to a halt as he caught sight of it. Sam forgot to stop in surprise and crashed into the wall of a nearby shop.

Dazed, she pulled herself to her feet and they watched as it strode towards the Central shoulders at the far end of the street.

They were keeping up an impressive rate of fire, for all the good it was doing. The bullets were just bouncing off the monster's thick skin. The rounds only seemed to be annoying it.

If anything, they were only going to run themselves out of ammo, Ed suspected, in three… two…

_Click._

Ed watched them reach for another magazine and find their pouches empty. They looked at each other, looked one more time at the monster, and then finally fled, screaming.

"Woah… It just took those bullets like it was nothing!"

The monster was just standing there for the moment, looking confused more than anything, but if it had been set on attacking the soldiers, who knew what kind of damage it could do to the rest of the city?

"Looks like it's up to us, until the bigger guns arrive." Which hopefully wouldn't be too long, if the ever-closer sirens were anything to go by. Ed turned to Sam. "Ever been in a fight, before?"

He expected her to say no, but again she surprised him. Drawing up into a proper defensive combat stance, she nodded.

"Just watch me."

Ed blinked, and started as he realised that she was suddenly nowhere to be seen.

"Trust me. All part of the plan." Her voice came from nowhere.

Ed shrugged and advanced up the street

"Hey, ugly!" He shouted to get its attention, not because he expected a response.

He was wrong-footed when it actually spoke back to him.

"You talkin' to me?"

As it turned, its tail swung round and crashed into the side of one of the nearby cafes, sending rubble flying everywhere.

_It talks! It can't be… a homunculus? _Ed was filled with dread at the thought.

_Maybe the best approach is to act natural? How would I react if I wasn't facing down a twelve foot talking dinosaur in the middle of the night?_

"What the hell are you doing, damnit?"

_Ok, maybe too natural._

"Hell if I know!" The dinosaur shouted back. The conversation was growing more surreal by the second. It had its hands on its hips in an oddly human gesture of frustration. "I was just minding my own business and then whadda I know, I'm climbing out of a crater here and being shot at!"

_Just like Sam, then? But if this had happened again, and if it had happened to such a creature as this…_

The giant brought its hands up quickly, crashing into the buildings on both sides and sending more stone flying, almost as if it hadn't been thinking about where it was moving. The streets _were_ narrow, but still…

_Oh shit-_

He didn't even have time to vocalise the curse in his haste to avoid the incoming piece of dislodged wall that was quickly flying towards him.

"… Oops."

"Be more careful, damnit!" He yelled at the dinosaur from the floor. It shrugged back at him, scraping the walls of the intact top floors as it did so.

It was fortunate that all of the restaurants were closed at this time of day, and that there were no flats that people might be living in. _No-one to evacuate._

Then it made the mistake of turning away, disinterested.

_We can't let it run off. We need to keep it here until backup arrives._

"Hey! I'm not done with you, yet, you hear me!" Ed saw it as an opportunity and was running even before he started yelling, launching himself into a flying kick, automail foot first at the exposed neck of the monster.

It turned, lightning fast, and backhanded him down the street to where he had started. He landed in a heap, groaning; it didn't feel like he'd broken anything from the impact or the fall, but he was probably bruised in several places.

His automail was intact, and it seemed to have actually hurt the creature. It was clutching its arm, wincing in pain, utterly distracted from its surroundings for a brief moment.

A brief moment was all Sam needed.

She leapt out of the shadows into the air with a screeching cry, landing on its back.

"Hey, get off me!" The monster turned and twisted, trying to brush her off, but she clung firm and avoided its clumsy strikes.

Her punches weren't doing anything to it, but at least she had it occupied. Ed rallied and charged back down the street as she made its way up towards its head using its scaly ridges as handholds, probably intent on going for the eyes.

* * *

Whatever her plan was, she never had a chance to implement it.

The monster saw Ed coming, felt Sam desperately climbing up its spine, and paused. It waited until she was up to its neck, then twisted one final time, bringing Sam straight into its well-positioned hand. It completed the turn as she struggled in its grasp, screaming at it to drop her.

It decided to throw her instead. Directly at Ed, in fact.

Sam flew like a missile back down the street and collided with Ed, sending them both sprawling into the wall, tangled up together.

"Ok, that didn't go to plan." Sam spat her hair out of her mouth as they both fought to rise. Again, neither had any major injuries, judging from the way they weren't screaming in pain, but there would undoubtedly be bruises in the morning.

"You had a plan, Red?"

"Well, uh, it's not like I've ever fought a giant dinosaur with no equipment before." She retorted. "Kinda out of my depth here. And it's not, like, some dumb beast. It's pretty smart."

That much was undoubtedly true. Apart from the fact that it could talk, it was calculating, acting from thought and not from mere instinct.

"Plus, I still did more than you."

_Damnit, she's right._

A great black shadow shrouded them both and they froze.

Looking up, they saw the monster looming straight over them.

It opened its mouth to speak again.

A torrent of flame erupted between them, throwing the monster backwards off its feet into a far wall. Even then, it was only singed, not burned, by the attack.

Ed blinked, then panicked as he realised that _he _was on fire. Part of the backlash and swept over him and covered his clothes with soot, along with a few embers which he hastily patted out.

"Apologies for the danger-close, Fullmetal, but you looked like you needed the help. Good thing Hawkeye and I were in the area anyway." Mustang was standing over him, eyes trained down the road towards his target. He took a few more paces forward, hands now behind his back, his jacket swaying in the residual rush of heat from his attack.

"You're not sorry." Ed grumbled back as he staggered to his feet, offering a hand to Sam as she stared at the newcomer. "Sam, this is Colonel Roy Mustang. And hey, you told me that you were going back to the East today!"

"A pleasure, miss." Mustang said, but his eyes stayed focused down the road. She mumbled an "Um, likewise" in response. "And no, I'm not really sorry, and I lied about going back to the East so that you wouldn't bother me. Now just what the hell are we dealing with here?"

"Not sure. Looks like it came out of the sky, like Sam. But it's tough, alright. And it _talks_."

This caught Mustang's attention. He whirled to face Ed, eyes wide.

"It_ talks_? You don't think…"

"Let's hope not." Ed muttered grimly. "Where's Hawkeye, then?"

"Went to get us some transport. She'll be here soon." Sure enough, Ed could already hear an engine running, coming closer and closer through the streets. The sirens in the distance had stopped, perhaps in an attempt to reassure the citizenry that there was nothing to worry about. "Stay down, both of you. This guy's not done yet."

"You've got that right!" The monster apparently had very good hearing. It let out an echoing roar and charged down the street again towards them, the ground and buildings shaking with each footfall.

Mustang narrowed his eyes, raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers. A spark shot towards the monster and exploded into a massive fireball. He had to be careful to avoid setting any of the buildings alight, but otherwise had little need to throttle the flames.

"Unreal…" Sam whispered, her eyes wide. Ed realised that it was her first time seeing a demonstration of alchemy.

"That's put paid to it." The colonel said with a satisfied smirk, crossing his arms.

"Don't be so sure." Ed cautioned; if it could shake off gunfire so easily, it would be premature to assume it would die so simply to any attack. And sure enough…

The smoke from the attack cleared and again the monster did not even seem singed.

"Will you cut that out?" It demanded, and charged.

Mustang's smirk turned into a frown. He tried again, and again and again, combining assaults from both his left and right hands in alternating pinpoint and expansive blasts. Each time, the creature withstood it all.

The colonel paused after his eighth attempt at setting it ablaze, a look of concern creeping onto his face. If nothing else, his attacks were pushing it back down the street, but had started to cause some real damage to their surroundings. One of the buildings had already started to burn, bathing them all in an ominous glow.

A deep, throaty chuckle pierced the smoke of Mustang's last attempt. The creature was on its feet again, and smiling wide, numerous sharp teeth on display. It was an eerie visage to witness on an anthropomorphic dinosaur.

"I don't know who you people are, but no-one attacks me like this and gets away with it!"

"We seem to be 'getting away with it' so far." Mustang pointed out.

"So you're pretty good at throwing fire. Guess what? I can do that too."

It raised its palm to its chest and hammered down on part of its "sash", on something that almost looked like a button that Ed hadn't noticed before. It had a green hourglass design set on a black background.

The monster disappeared in a brief flash of brilliant green light that caused Mustang, Ed and Sam to shield their eyes.

When they opened them again, the twelve foot giant dinosaur was gone.

In its place stood something else. It was man-sized, but appeared to be formed out of flowing magma, its eyes and mouth simply white hot flame.

"What the hell…"

"Heatblast!" It cried, raising its hands. "Let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine!"

Ed saw the fireball coming and shouted a warning to Mustang, but the colonel was already on it. He clapped his hands together and slammed them into the ground, raising a stone wall just in time to block the attack.

"We never saw any homunculi do that." Ed gulped.

"This could be bad." Mustang agreed. Then the wall in front of them exploded.

* * *

It had taken the first attack with a noticeable creak, but caved in the face of a second gout of flame. Flaming rubble flew everywhere. Half the street was now on fire, and the rest looked soon to follow. Sam dragged Ed into cover around the corner, and Mustang, in spite of his usual bravado, looked on the verge of joining them. Fire sirens started up elsewhere in the city.

"Ed, the smoke!" Sam cried, and Ed realised that the smoke from the fire would quickly choke them. Mustang realised it, and started backing away, yelling at the others to do the same. They retreated the way they had come.

'Heatblast' was still walking up towards them, every step leaving cinders sparking on the ground. They were fortunate that there was nothing there to catch alight.

Mustang snarled a curse.

"I won't be beaten at my own game!" At this range it was too dangerous to try anything but a pinpoint strike, but it hardly mattered. 'Heatblast' simply raised a hand and absorbed the flame.

"Got anything else?" It taunted, still coming closer.

Ed kept his head down, anticipating more fire coming their way any moment.

Sam was watching the creature intently._ It doesn't act like a mindless beast… It can change form, so what if…?_

Desperate now, Mustang clapped his hands again and formed pillars out of the road, sending them skyward in an effort to throw the creature off balance. It would've worked, too…

…had the creature not simply taken flight. It ripped up one of the pillars and set it ablaze, standing on it to hover above the ground and avoid the attacks.

It hovered above them, fire in its hands. Mustang raised his own to clap again.

"WAIT!"

Sam was suddenly between them, switching her view between them to glare both of them down. They both paused.

"Get out of the way." Mustang hissed through clenched teeth. "I've got this."

"Heatblast" remained silent, and simply stared at her.

"Well you've done _such _a great job so far, colonel. Let me give it a shot." She said, then turned away from him and looked the creature in the eye. "You're not _actually_ a monster, are you?"

A long pause. Then…

"No."

"So, you can change your shape?"

"Yeah. This is the Omnitrix ." It indicated the strange button on its chest that had persisted when it had transformed. "I can use it to turn into lots of different aliens, like this one."

"Aliens?" Sam blinked. "You know what, never mind." After being sent somewhere else in time and space and witnessing the use of alchemy as an everyday concept, suddenly someone transforming into lots of aliens no longer seemed so unbelievable. "Then what are you normally?"

The alien floated down to the earth and got off its platform to stand right in front of them. Ed noticed Mustang tense a little as it walked right up to Sam.

"I'm human."

Sam nodded, apparently satisfied. She turned to the Flame Alchemist.

"Colonel?"

Mustang grimaced at her tone.

"Prove it." He demanded of the alien.

It nodded, and brought its palm to its chest again. There was another flash of green light. When it faded, 'Heatblast' was gone.

In its place stood a young human male, perhaps a year younger than Sam. He had short, brown hair and wore a white, green-etched hooded top with the number ten on his left chest and brown pants. He was about Ed's height, maybe even shorter, and stared up at Mustang and Sam with a cheeky grin, the latter of whom was quick to hide her blush. The device – this 'Omnitrix' - he had been using to change forms now appeared as a watch on his wrist.

"Hi, I'm Ben Tennyson." He said. "Nice to meet you."

* * *

"Nice to meet you?!" Ed shouted incredulously. "After all that, _nice to meet you is the first thing you say_?"

Ben shrugged.

"Why not?" He asked.

"We just fought a huge battle and destroyed that entire street! A 'sorry' would be nice!"

"Hey! You were the ones who attacked me!" Which was the truth, but Ed was hardly one to back down and admit fault.

"_After _you started destroying stuff!" As if to accentuate his point, one of the buildings collapsed in on itself.

"_That _was just an accident!"

"_And _we couldn't just let you go walking around the city!"

A dinosaur strolling around Central might have caused _some _panic, after all.

Sam and the colonel watched the argument go on and on and round in circles for a little while. Meanwhile, the street burned in front of them, though the wind carried the smoke away from them now.

"Alright, knock it off!" Sam shouted, breaking up the fight. "We've got a bigger problem right now." She indicated the blaze.

The four of them stared at the fire as it illuminated the night and yet cast a deep shadow across them at the same time.

"Fire crews'll deal with it." Ed opined.

"It could spread by the time they get here and get everything under control." Sam pointed out.

"I'll deal with it." Ben said firmly. The others looked at him strangely. "What? I can fix this. Just watch!" He fiddled with the device on his wrist for a moment, then slammed down on it again.

More green light, and suddenly a red, metallic, mollusc-like, yet still humanoid, alien stood before them. He – now that they knew it was Ben - had claws attached to its wide hands and small vents across its body.

"Water Hazard!" Ben cried. He turned to the nearest fire and let out a massive burst of water; in less than a minute the fire was out and the rubble of wood and stone was merely smouldering.

He moved off into the street, putting out the flames left and right. It took five minutes to complete the task.

"Not bad." Mustang admitted under his breath as Ben returned, shifting out of his alien form.

The smoke was drifting off to the east and would harmlessly dissipate in a short amount of time. It might affect some around the area, but the whole situation would have been far worse if this had occurred inside the residential district with a much higher population density.

"Done!" Ben declared.

"_Great _job." Ed deadpanned. "Now on top of those destroyed buildings, the owners will come back to find their surviving possessions _flooded out_ as well."

Ben glared at him.

"At least it can't spread." Sam offered. They all stared at the sorry sight, uncomfortable evidence of the misunderstanding that had led to the fight in the first place.

They were interrupted by the sound of an engine, and a civilian van pulling up and parking nearby. Captain Hawkeye stepped out, handgun un-holstered and at her side, and surveyed the damage.

"I can't leave you alone for more than five minutes, can I, sir?"

"Not my fault." Mustang grumbled. "And where _have _you been, captain?"

It shouldn't have taken her that long to get a transport, after all. And they had all heard her vehicle earlier.

"I saw your fight against the giant monster, sir, and thought it best to establish a security cordon to prevent the media from getting to see it."

_So that's why we weren't disturbed throughout this whole fight…_ Ed realised blithely.

Mustang considered this for a moment, then nodded.

"Uh… Good thinking. And good work."

"Sir. Uh, sir? Where is the creature now?" She asked.

Her superior shook his head and pointed at Ben, who smiled sheepishly and put his hand up. Hawkeye raised an eyebrow.

"Sir?"

"…It's a long story. I'll explain later. Right now it's time to go. Radio it in and drop the cordon. After that, we're leaving."

She nodded and headed back to the van. The Flame Alchemist turned to the others.

"We're leaving. Let's go."

"I think we'll head back to the hotel on our own." Ed stood his ground. "Come on, Sam."

"That wasn't a request, Fullmetal. That was an order. We can't afford to be seen anywhere around the scene of this fight. Get in the van."

Ed looked like he wanted to argue further, but Sam stymied him with a look. It said _There's no point_.

"Fine." He muttered grudgingly. "We'll go."

They got into the back of the van.

That just left Ben.

"I don't really see why I should-" He began, but Mustang had had enough.

"JUST GET IN THE DAMN VAN ALREADY!" He roared.

Ben put his hands up apologetically.

"Ok, ok, I'm going! Geez…"

Mustang watched him go, then turned to face the remains of the street they had destroyed.

"Two, now." He whispered softly. "This is getting out of hand."

He strode over to the van and joined Hawkeye in the front. She put it into drive and they sped off into the night.

None of them had noticed that the shadows around the area were twice the length they should have been.

* * *

You got it, S J Smith. Any other takers for the remaining guest stars?


End file.
